Software Superheros: Comic-Reading Apps for Tablets

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Software Superheros: Comic-Reading Apps for Tablets

Few things are so well-suited to mobile devices' lush color and displays as comics, and forward-looking publishers are fast ushering out the age of Mylar polybags.

Comics By ComiXology
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While virtually every comic publisher has a standalone app, ComiXology's overarching reader has become the dominant force in the field. With dozens of publishers and same-day releases, it's an apt competitor for your local shop; with navigation that lets you effortlessly zoom in and pore over one panel at a time, it's enough to go digital and never look back.

Most manga readers scrape "scanlation" sites, which offer free Japanese-only works that fans have translated to English. But that presents a murky copyright situation. Manga powerhouse VIZ rises above the fray with its huge library of translated titles, unflopped (reading right-to-left, as in the Japanese originals).

WIRED Same-day-as-print, as well as some digital previews up to three months before publication. Huge archives include full runs of classics.

TIRED Lack of auto-resume forces you to set a bookmark before you close the app—or lose your place.

You, of course, are an assiduously ethical person, so you don't download comics via torrent. You do, however, have a vast collection of, say, scanned public-domain Golden Age comics. Enter Comic Zeal, which offers full-featured tagging and organization, along with easy sideloading to get all those Racket Squad issues off your hard drive and onto your iDevice.

The lone major US comic publisher not available through ComiXology's umbrella, Dark Horse continues to bushwhack its own path. From Hellboy to the many Joss Whedon show series (Buffy, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible, etc.), the gang's all here—the only place you can find them on a phone or tablet.

WIRED Fast downloads. Lots of graphic novels.

TIRED Disappointingly laggy and slow browsing. Panel zoom can be inconsistent. Would be a much better reader experience if they'd just join ComiXology.

Plenty of small-press publishers are available through reader apps, but self-published and emergent indie artists have historically been stuck in local comic shops. Emanata seeks to change that, offering underground creators a showcase that also happens to be fluid and beautifully designed in its own right.